Overview

Participants

Summary

A September night in Houston's industrial sprawl. Li, Ashton, Archimedes, and Todrick gather outside a fenced warehouse complex, and while the place looks mundane at first glance, they're here on a tip that a human trafficking ring lurks within.

Ashton, in raven form, scouts the area and maps out the scene. One harmless night guard, five armed hostiles in the central building, two patrolling outside with dogs, and, in the condemned warehouse, a cluster of frail, terrified heartbeats. But something upstairs in the central building feels inhuman and wrong. The black Suburban parked outside is weighted with cartel money and menace. Whoever's running this operation is here tonight.

Li devises a plan. Archimedes and Ashton will handle the cameras and security systems while he and Todrick bluff their way through the front gate. The night guard, Miller, never sees it coming. Thanks to the persuasive gifts of the Ancestor spirits that counsel their words, Li's poise and authority and Todrick's backup presence have the man unlocking the gates before he even realizes he's spoken too much. He even offers to kennel the dogs.

While Li advances on the central building, Ashton shadows him from above, his sharp senses catching the foul presence of a Fomor. Todrick pulls Miller aside under the pretense of checking for a bomb and, with a single heavy punch, drops the man cold. Giving a man brain damage wasn't exactly what the Child of Gaia had in mind, but, honestly, I don't know what else he expected. As the cameras flicker out by the Ratkin's teeth and Ashton's beak and talons, Miller's radio crackles with the demand to know who's tampering with the feeds! Todrick Boomhauer bluffs through it as 'Miller' as he sabotages the armored Suburban's engine for good measure.

Upstairs, Li moves through the industrial gloom toward the wrongness that calls to him, finding a narrow hallway leading to a command center, an office, and finally, one sealed door radiating malevolence. Instinct makes him step aside just in time for a shotgun blast to tear through the space where he'd stood.

Prelude

After Solidarity brought RJ under their wing at The Rusty Mule honky tonk, Li Wei wanted to see the shape and size of exactly who and what he was protecting, and from what. And so he made some calls.

A Call from Mickey Delgado

Two days after reaching out to Mickey Delgado, the phone rings, and when Li answers it, he hears a pleasant woman's pre-recorded voice: "You have a collect call from..."

"I know you have fifty cents." It's Delgado's voice.

"Press one to accept charges."

(Beep!)

"Hey, Wei. The /feds/ are asking about your guy!" It's equal parts amusement and annoyance in your informant's tone.

"Rudolph Kaatz, Junior. He works for Emergency Industrial Services, and THEY do work for whatever. Two kids, two DUIs, can't say that marriage is happy if word's right he's behind on child support. I'd tell you where he was stayin', but I think me not being able to find him is the point. Anyway - his wife's filed a missing persons report on him that got withdrawn. Someonr told the feds he matters, that much I can tell you for free. I can get you the federal case file, but it'll cost you because it'll cost ME with my contacts at the ATF. I'll owe 'em. So. If you don't mind being in the dark on some other thing you care about later... Then let's take a walk, and I'll tell you what I need."

In response to Delgado - Li thinks on it for a moment, before deciding. "Excellent information. If we can determine if his wife was encouraged to drop the case, it may give us some leads too. It would certainly tell us how far they are willing to go to clean him up as a loose end. Please, do look into exactly what the feds are after. And I will owe you, of course. Business is business."

"Good, I knew you'd be a businessman! But what I need, well, it ain't something that can be handled over the phone, and it's not a one-and-done kind of problem to solve neither. I got a guy, Isaiah Smith, internal affairs. He's been sniffing around some of my arrangements, and it's nothing he can prove yet, but he's persistent, and I need him to get distracted by something bigger. Something that'll keep him busy for the next few months and make him look good enough that he stops digging into my extracurriculars."

The sound of passing traffic silently whispers in the background noise over the line. "I don't want you to hurt the guy, but I do need someone with your connections to drop some real shit into his lap. Something federal, something that makes him look like a goddamn hero for uncovering it, and keeps him tied up." He's silent for a second.

"...Now... There's a human trafficking operation running out of a warehouse complex on the East Side. Real nasty shit. One of their victims escaped and flagged down a patrol car last month, but the case got 'reassigned' before anyone could follow up properly. According to her, they're bringing people in through the port, holding them in containers, then moving them inland. It's cartel through and through and they're definitely expecting a police raid, but hey. Now, if some vigilantes hit that warehouse, though, dispensed the justice, freed the people, but left enough evidence behind for Izzy to 'discover' the operation, well, now, that'd be the cat's ass right there. If you can gift wrap a big case for Smith and get him off my ass, I'll do you more than that case file. I'll give you everything HPD has on Smith International. Not just the federal stuff. Every police report. Every permit application. Every time they've called for 'security assistance.' And plus I'll flag you whenever new reports come in. Do we got a deal?"

Voicemail From 'Miranda'

"Mister Wei, this is Miranda from the office." She doesn't say which office, but the nature of what she says next has you guessing it's probably Calloway's doing.

"Smith International's been very busy on the Hill lately! They've trippled their lobbying expenditures since July, which to me is pretty aggressive for a company that just had a workplace incident, but I guess when you hire Chevron's lawyers, you play by Chevron's rules. Oh, I'm getting ahead of myself: they're working with the same firm that provided Chevron's liability limitation language. Pushing hard for amendments to CERCLA to make carve outs for 'emergency research and development activities', changes to OSHA protocols. It looks like they're a big proponent of letting companies use their own, qualified specialists for incident investigations instead of federal inspectors. You know, to streamline the process and make sure regulators understand their industry by actually being part of it. ATF's been asking questions about Smith International's federal permits and interstate operations - probably just standard procedure after an industrial accident this size... We'll keep you posted on what we can share!"

Log

(Medina) Another smothering September night. The humidity is relentless, like a sauna towel, but it's soaked in industrial runoff. Out here, the air is acrid with that petrochemical tang, and threadbare - like the desperation of the daily grind has somehow given the atmosphere its unsettling character. The night sky glows orange under the light polution like the glow of a fire. A number of grain elevators several hunddred yards away punctuates the sky line, in stark relief against the industrial maze.

And out here, is the warehouse complex that the woman who speaks K'iche had so desperately tried to tell people about. From outside, the complex is wrapped in a chain-link fence topped with concertina wire, and it's well cared for: casual scrutiny shows no holes, no rust.

It's loud out here among the refineries, with the constant low thrumming of machinery that never sleeps, the distant hiss of steam vents, and the occasional rumble of eighteen-wheelers hauling their midnight cargo toward the port.

You can see that there are three buildings off the main road behind the chain link fence. One is Coastal Import Solutions among them, its loud sign painted in an optimistic corporate "honest business" color scheme that sells the image maybe a little too hard. The parking lot holds a handful of sedans and a small delivery truck. The second building squats in the middle, all business and no pretense. No signs, no decorative lighting. The windows that aren't bricked over are covered with heavy curtains that leak thin lines of yellow light. Four vehicles cluster near the main entrance: two panel vans with their license plates obscured by convenient mud spatters, a black Suburban brand spanking new, and a pickup truck that's seen better decades. And lastly, the third building is a squat, concrete toad of a warehouse that looks like it hasn't been touched in twenty years, with boarded windows, overgrown weeds creeping up the walls, and weathered 'CONDEMNED' notices that have long since faded in the sun.

Security lighting illuminates the main gate entrance and loading dock with the kind of bright, even coverage that suggests someone actually gives a shit about their insurance premiums. A single figure is currently making a lazy circuit around Coastal Import Solutions, more concerned with his thermos of coffee than the world around him.

(Ashton elects to fly over and use Enemy Ways to get a handle on peoples' postitions.)'

(Ashton rolls Perception + Primal Urge for 4 successes).

(Li) The briefing was given by Li, once the group gathered. The plan was given, in terms of capture and bowtie for the authorities if possible. If they are of the Wyrm in terms of Fomor or other, we remove them from the planet. Li was happy to explain that all of this additional work would be beneficial for some favors that Etienne would appreciate.

As Ashton took to the air, he looked to Archimedes and Todrick. "Thoughts on getting in?" He asks, looking over the place. "Walk in like we own the place?"

(Ashton) Ashton brought a chain, but leaves it on the ground when he shifts to raven to fly over and scout.

(Archimedes) Here with Li and Ashton because, well, they are his packmates... Archimedes keeps a rather low profile. Brows arch at the question from Li and the Ratkin gives a slight shrug. He can do that, currently in 'Ratman' form which is similar to Glabro for a Garou. "I don't know, how are you at lying and bluffing? I'm not great at it, but I'm sneaky..." says the Engineer with a half grin at his companion. "That is how I would do it. Snip the fence a slip in undetected. Knock out security cameras, hell we could knock out the whole place maybe with a good power surge."

(Todrick) Todd clicks his tongue quietly, "Aw, man, I'm still being electrocuted into knowing how to do that." he says of causing a power surge. "There's like one guy patroling, looks like, if the gates aren't camera monitored, I could probably just actually slip in real quick. Or even if there is, just like, could chew the wires." He also nods to fence cutting, "Or that, who doesn't love a fence hole?" He looks to Li and Archi here though, being the lowest guy on the totem pole here. He also guards Ash's chain for him while he's scouting about!

(Li rolls Perception + Streetwise vs 6 for 2 successes.)

(Ashton rolls Perception + Alertness vs 4 (SPECIALTY) for 9 successes.)

(Ashton, you fly over the warehouse complex, and your senses cut through the night like a scalpel, mapping out the warehouse complex. Coastal Import Solutions only hosts one human heartbeat, steady and relaxed. That's the night watchman with his coffee thermos, nothing hostile about him. He's exactly what he appears to be. Inside the center building there are five distinctly hostile heartbeats, their heart rates elevated, alert, definitely armed. The fifth one among them is ... Different. Wrong, somehow. It moves with so much fluidity, it's distracting. It's up on the second floor, near what may be an equipment room. Just outside that same building are two guards. As you fly for some minutes, you can time that they're making a perimeter round every fifteen or so minutes. Another is stationed at the ground floor window watching security monitors. There are two German shepherds on patrol, making predictable circuits. And lastly, in the 'condemned' building, there are twelve little delicate rhythms but they're weak. The slow pulse of exhaustion, fear, clustered together in what feels to be the ground floor. No guards inside the building with them - but their signatures are so barely-there, they are probably written off as not worth guarding.')

(Ashton rolls Perception + Primal Urge vs 6 for 3 successes.)

(Ashton, you additionally notice motion sensors on the perimeter, that the Suburban is outfitted with things like low profile run flats and is sitting a little too heavy in the rear to be empty, as well as the fact that the 'condemned' building's boarded up windows are a little too perfect, and thw vines are fast-growing kudzu - easy enough to manufacture it to /look/ more abandoned than it really is.)

(Li, you read the warehouse complex from a different angle than the corax that has gone above. That black Suburban isn't just expensive. It has the gravity of presence of cartel money. Factory tint, low-profile run-flat tires, and sitting just a little too heavy in the rear for an empty vehicle. Someone important is here tonight. The panel vans are work vehicles, probably rotating plates regularly, but that pickup truck looks like something someone would drive if they were like somebody desperate enough to be getting paid peanuts to be the expendable face if cops show up. You notice that perimeter guard too, his route is very practiced. He's not some rent a cop walking on his shift, that's a real-deal security professional. You also notice motion sensors on the fence! It's certainly overkill for a legitimate import business. It's safe to say Coastal Import Solutions must be the classic shell to give them an excuse to move cargo to maintain a cover.')

(Li) Li speaks quietly, so Todrick can get the info as well - using the pack link to ensure Ashton is aware of his findings. "The Suburban, it is quite outfitted. Likely armored, run-flat tires. It means someone important is here - someone of gravitas." He says, looking to the others. "The patrol is practiced, not a rental cop - he knows his route. There are some patsies here too, likely to take the fall and let the big name escape."

(Ashton) Ashton communicates with his pack via telepathy. He flies back though to say it out loud. Still a raven, but speaking softly in perfect english due to his ability to mimic speech. "Coastal Import Solutions has one guy--a guard. The night watchman. He's not hostile. There's 5 hostiles inside the center building...THey're armed...One of them might not be human. Something weird about him. He's on the second floor. Outside that building are two guards...they seem to patrol every 15 minutes...There's another guard on the ground floor watching security monitors...and 2 dogs on patrol. In the last building, the condemed building, there's 12 people...probably our victims...There's motion sensors on the perimeter. The suburban is outfitted with something...The building that's supposed to look abandoned definitely isn't, it's too perfectly boarded up, and the vines are fast growing kudzu. So they want us to think it's abandoned but it definitely isn't. I dunno what the deal is with the car. I don't know enough about cars. But it looks weird and heavy in the back end."

(Ashton) Ashton is on Todd's shoulder, because why not. "We need to disable the cameras. Archimedes, wanna like...chew wires? Or should I just move them?"

(Todrick) "Oooh, cool. ... Can we keep it if it survives?" Todd asks. I mean, you don't just let a sweetass armored suburban go to waste! "We should probably disable that as well so the oddball cant get away easily if we spook them, maybe. I can do that, but I'm also dude sized and wont be able to hide myself screwing around under the hood. So, a fence snip to get in, slip past the quarter hour patrols, deal with hostages or attackers first?" he asks, uh, basically everybody else, he's just here to do what he's told!

(Ashton) Ashton ponders. "The hostages are fine for now, they're not even guarded, no hostiles in the building with them. They seem...weak, but. Alive. I'm more concerned with the cameras, the guard watching the cameras, the 2 dogs, and the 2 guards outside, and the 5 hostiles in the building, one of which seems inhuman somehow." He pauses. "And I guess the other night watchman."

(Li) Li nods to Todd. "If you like, you can lay claim to it. It might have a history, though." He mentions. "If you can disable it, perfect. I do not have the skills or gifts." A look to Archi, Noelle, Ashton and Todd. "I am up for your advice here. Normally I would walk in and make myself known and expect respect from the lower tier people. They are likely more on alert due to the important person."

(Medina) The night-time soundscape continues to drone around the warehouse complex as the pack orients from afar and makes their plan. Steam hisses from distant refineries, and the orange glow of safety flares paints the low-hanging clouds in hellish amber. From the raven's aerial recon and Li's savvy assessment, the picture grow clear: twelve captives warehoused like cargo in the "condemned" building, their life signs barely flickering, the real muscle concentrated in the central building, and with something among them that is somehow wrong. Motion sensors on the fenceline.Professional security, cartel money. It's easy to lose noise over the din of machinery, but with the keen senses present, scraps of someone's voice does carry through: "boat leaves at five AM." It's around 2 am right now. In the distance, a freight train's horn echoes across the industrial flatlands. The Port of Houston never truly sleeps, and that whatever "shipment" is scheduled to move will happen with or without intervention.

The perimeter guard just completed another circuit around Coastal Import Solutions, his routine as predictable as a metronome. The dogs have settled into their patrol pattern between Buildings B and C, and those motion sensors blink their steady red rhythm along the fence line. The black Suburban sits heavy and ominous near the central building's entrance, its occupant still inside the operation's command center.

(Ashton) Ashton considers. "We should take out the cameras. When the guy comes to investigate the cameras, we can knock him out. THe dogs though. ... Wanna throw over some meat with sedatives in it or something? How do we deal with dogs?"

(Todrick) Todd eyeballs the buldings in question and then grins, "I wish life was an action movie, Cause then all we'd have to do is disable the phonelines running to the property, hotwire the shiny car and literally drive it through the warehouse wall. Everybody dives out, knee caps are broken, cool one liners are thrown out there, there's a few slow motion automatic fire moments, then a boss fight with a vampire that gets dramatically staked on a chair leg. Smash cut to a dawn shot with EMTs and the comforting flash of police lights and confused witness statements as the heroes walk off and the credits roll. ... We should drive through the wall."

(Todrick) Todd also adds, "I'll annoy the dogs, I'm really... really good at that." Cause dogs fucking hate Todd!

(Ashton) Ashton considers. "If you distract the dogs, it will draw out the guards...And we can ambush them." He shrugs. "I'll disable the cameras. Or else, move them so they aren't pointing at us."

(Li) Li looks to Archi. "I think someone should go for the odd one - it might try to escape, otherwise. And I have a feeling that one is most certainly of the Wyrm. No concrete evidence, yet..." A wry grin.

(Medina) As the group discusses ideas, one can note that the camera cables must be easy to chew through for someone like Archimedes. And because they have cables, the central location that they end up recording to is likely an easy matter to trace physically.

(Medina) As for the dogs, they're well but still dogs. Sedatives could work if someone just so happened to bring some benzos, although none of you look like wine moms who coast in the grocery store on temazepam so that's a little more obscure of a solution. Raw meat will get their attention, but some dogs are trained not to eat random food. A really good throw might distract them long enough regardless of if they do eat it.

Disabling the suburban should be trivial for a Glass Walker, although it IS parked in an area where a guard might spot movement. Disabling it quietly is doable either way. Pulling distributor caps, cutting fuel lines. Just remember it might be armored, so whoever's inside could turtle up if things go sideways. Bluffing could work on the gate guards with someone persuasive enough with a solid cover story - maybe claiming to be muscle sent by another organization, or a courier with time-sensitive information. It's risky, but no risk no reward.

(The group plans a coordinated infiltration: Li and Todrick will distract and bluff the outer guards to remove the dogs from play, while Ashton stealthily positions himself to strike from above as backup, and Archimedes will cut cameras.)

(Li rolls Charisma + Subterfuge vs 7 for 4 successes.)

(Todrick rolls Charisma + Subterfuge vs 7 for 4 successes.)

(Todrick rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge vs 5 for 2 successes.)

(Li rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge vs 5 for 5 successes.)

(Li) Straightening his suit, he beings walking up on the place from a plausible place where a car might have been parked. Speaking to the other man in Cantonese, he makes sure that his muscle stays close - and mutters a bit about being dragged out to this god-forsaken location. Once close enough, he looks to whomever might be guarding. He nods to the man, waiting expectantly. No aggressive motion, no nervousness - just the understanding that he is supposed to be here.

Once spoken to, Li nods in polite respect to the guard - yes, the guard. "I am here to speak to whomever is in charge. I have information that would be something they need to hear, rather urgently." He belongs here, by his confidence.

(Todrick) Todd tucks in his shirt and straightens his back, following along behind Li. Being seen but not heard, it's mostly a body language difference in how he's walking or waiting just a couple paces behind Li, folding his inked arms and affecting that sort of lazy bulldog act. Practiced, not an excitable rookie, he's takin care of his boss and ensuring no one's silly enough to tell him no.

(Ashton) Ashton is also there. On the roof of the little guard house. As a raven. Watching.

(Medina) The gate guard is a thick-set blond man in his forties, and his security uniform's seen better days, but it's sitll pressed clean. His name tag reads "Miller" and there's a thermos of coffee steaming on the little shelf inside his booth. When Li approaches with that unmistakable air of authority, Miller's posture awakens from its nightshift slouch to the attentive professionalism of a man in the presence of his betters, his eyes widening at the sight of not only Li, but the man with him. They came in exuding such confidence, such purpose in their bearing!

"Yassuh, absolutely," Miller says, already reaching for his radio. Li's confidence has him completely convinced that he clearly belongs here, and he must be someone important enough that keeping them waiting would be a career-limiting mistake... "You'll want to speak with Mr. Gutierrez upstairs in Building B. He's been expecting..." He trails off. "Well, he's been dealing with the prep for the morning shipment." Miller's deep voice carries that slightly nervous edge of someone who realizes he might have said too much, but the duo's presence is so commanding that the words just tumbled out. He glances up as a raven grabs his attention, and the omen that it is to see a /raven/ gives him pause. He looks back to the man.

"...Should I radio ahead to let him know you're coming up? And, uh..." He glances at the German Shepherds making their patrol rounds between the buildings. "I can have Sanchez put the dogs away if you need to walk through the yard. They get a little jumpy around new people, especially tonight with everything so tight."

The sturdy man is already reaching for his keys, ready to unlock the gate without even asking for credentials.

(Ashton, you notice that the guard knows you're there.)

(Ashton) The raven will fly off to the roof of a nearby building. Still watching, and try to get a read on the 'weird' presence.

(Ashton rolls Dexterity + Stealth vs 6 for 6 successes.)

(Li) Li looks the man up and down, as if inspecting. "Yes, the dogs should be kenneled and prepped to move, if needed. Thank you for the consideration - we don't want them barking loud enough to draw attention, no matter how remote we might be." He waits for the gate to be opened, then steps in as expected. His eyes scan for Building B, the man then heading in that direction.

(Medina) As Li and Todd work their magic at the gate, Ashton takes wing toward that central building, drawn by that wrongness he had so recently detected. Flying silently through the industrial haze, he perches on a corroded fire escape outside a second-floor window where thin yellow light leaks around heavy curtains, and he sees that providence has left a window cracked barely open through which he can, in fact, pick up a scent. Through a gap in the curtains, Ashton gets a whiff of the source of that supernatural wrongness. The stench of corruption hits his beak like a physical blow - this /thing/ was human once, but something has nested inside. Something that reeks of industrial poison and manufactured despair. The spiritual pollution radiating from it is so thick Ashton can almost taste it.

(Ashton) Ashton communicates to Li with telepathy. 'This guy isn't human. I think he's fomori.'

(Todrick) Todd follows Li in through the gate, and then leans a little to murmur something, and get a murmur back while the guard's getting the dogs called in to be put up for a bit. He manages to look real hesitant about leaving Li's side, but a good bulldog obeys, so he turns to take the few meters back to the guard shack, saying somewhat conspiritorially, "Hey, buddy, why'nt'choo gimme a hand with somethin'." Todd still has to deal with the car, and this guy has *eyes*. Like, he noticed a bird! WHAT. So Todd's gonna try and handle both things at the same time, and see if he cant get this guy into the imaginary trust circle on Something Important. It's gonna suck to get knocked out in a few minutes but... he probably had it coming.

(Medina) Miller nods at Li's instructions, immediately keying his radio. "Sanchez," he says, "put the dogs in the kennel, we got VIPs comin' through." He unlocks the gate, swinging it wide for Li and Todd. "Right this way, gents, it's just across the yard there."

Building B looms ahead - and a scrap of the raven's fluttering wings can be seen on his way to the same building as he simultaneously finds that perch.

Building B is a squat, utilitarian structure that makes no pretense of legitimacy. Unlike the sister building with its corporate signage and well-lit facade, this one is function and function alone, its concrete walls are stained with years of the Gulf's battering weather, the industrial haze baked into a patina. What windows aren't bricked over are covered with heavy blackout curtains that leak thin strips of yellow light.

The main entrance is a heavy steel door painted in chipped blue, flanked by a pair of security cameras. Those four vehicles cluster near the entrance. The two mud-splattered panel vans, the pristine black Suburban that lurks sturdy and heavy on its suspension, and that beat-up pickup truck that wishes it were somethign more.

Miller starts to move along, his earlier confidence replaced by nervous energy as he leads them toward the entrance. "Mr. Gutierrez is expecting important business tonight," he says, glancing back at Li. His grey-blue gaze is filled with the deference reserved for people who can make people disappear. "Should I escort you up, or...?" He trails off, clearly uncertain about protocol when dealing with someone of Li's CLEAR importance.

But Tod asks him to give him a hand, and it's with hesitant -- but compliant! -- curiosity that Millr looks inclined to oblige. "Yessir, what do you need help with?"

The sound of the German Shepherds being kenneled echoes from somewhere behind the derelict building beyond, the one coated in overgrown weeds and vines like a funeral shroud. The industrial symphony of nearby refineries continues its relentless drone.

(Li) Li chimes back to Ashton in the pack link, 'Is he alone up there? I am in, and heading up to the second floor.' He then looks to Todd and Miller. "Hurry back when you are done." He offers to both, though he knows one will likely be unconcious and trussed up if things go to plan. Then he's opening up the door and stepping inside.

(Ashton rolls Dexterity + Stealth vs 6 for 1 successes.)

(Ashton rolls Gnosis vs 8 for 1 successes.)

(Ashton) Ashton flies down to unlock the door for Li, communicating as much to him 'He's on the second floor, there's 4 other guys in the building. Let me get the door. ... Fucking thing unlock already. There.'

(Todrick) Todd puts an arm around Miller's shoulders to draw him away from Li, steal the guard's attention entirely so that Li can enter or slip into the shadows as he pleases. Todd leads the way towards the bosses car and Explains Things to the guard in hushed, conspiritorial tones. He's confident, convincing, this is some serious shit because, "There's a rat." apparently, and my boss (Li) is about to tell Miller's boss about this. What Todd and Miller gotta do is check the big guy's ride for a bomb and stop the dastardly plot before anyone gets hurt! It's all very 1995 spy/gangster thriller movie plot (look, Todd loves movies, okay?). Whatever gets him encouragement to pop the hood quietly. "Oh, shit... There it is." There's nothing there. "See it? Okay what I need you to do is-" Right around here is where the unsuspecting guard is scripted to get donkey punched while leaning forward so he bonks his head again and goes night night. In a perfect world, that is.

(Medina) As Miller approaches Todrick, he says, "Be right with you, sir," to Li's departing form, unaware of the duo that converges at the door he meant to unlock. A raven is at the door now, lighted on the handles, and he fidgets and finagles with the mechanism before it yields under his weight and is ready for Li to open.

(Ashton) Ashton flies off to make sure Archie got the cameras. Just a quick check. 'Sorry, I'm gonna check to make sure the cameras are disabled. Give me just a sec'

(Ashton) Ash said that telepathically to Li

(Medina) Ashton's earlier recon has paid off - he was able to map the area and discern where those wires ran. So he lights on a satellite dish and peers in to find a picture of a /mostly/ cut-off operation. Static on some screens show him that Archie indeed worked through some of the cables, but the rat can only work on so many at a time! A couple of cameras are still online, but several are not.

(Ashton) Ashton flies off to disable the rest of the cameras. And says so telepathically to Li 'Getting the remaining cameras. We don't need evidence'

(Todrick rolls Manipulation + Subterfuge vs 5 for 4 successes.)

(Medina) Miller follows after Todd and when he hears 'rat' there's almost a boyish excitement that comes out of the man for conspiracy and intrigue. It's not a riveting job, security work. He's intrigued, and his gaze sharpens with his interest before he tempers it into a responsible shade of concern. "Jesus, really? I mean, I haven't seen anything suspicious, but McVeigh is just giving people all the ideas ain't he?" He sucks in a centering breath as he looks off to the car in question. "I'm not exactly trained to deal with UXO, but --"

(Todrick rolls Dexterity + Brawl vs 6 for 4 successes.)

(Todrick rolls Strength + 4 vs 5 for 3 successes.)

(Todrick) Todd lures this guy like a pro, pointing out The Bomb in the car, which is not a bomb at all, it's like... a bolt. Whatever, just get in there and look closely, you'll see it! He tips his eyes up and truly does mouth a little, 'sorry, dude.' before WHAP! just popping his fist forward aimed at the back of Miller's head. His boxing coach would be so mad if he knew he went for the back of the head! There's another tump from Miller's forehead whacking the engine, and then the guy's slumping down. Todrick isn't a total dick though, he helps the guy down to the ground, pats him for any zip ties or anything. He's gotta get tied up, of course. Todd has duct tape, not a lot, but like who fuckin goes somewhere without the greatest of man's inventions on them at all time? Enough for a mouth cover, and in a pinch some duct tape bindings. For lack of anywhere better to put Miller, he just kinda rolls him into the shadows beside the suburban so that he's not immediately visible. Whip out the definitely non-weapon grade pocket knife, then get in there and go to town on a few hoses, remove this and that piece that borks the starting of cars.

(Medina) Tod's strike connects with Miller's skull with a wet, meaty sound that cuts through even the industrial drone around them. For a split second, the father of two's eyes go wide -- not with pain, but with the kind of confused, betrayed surprise of a man whose brain has just been turned into a DARE advertisment. Miller's body goes rigid, every muscle locking up as his nervous system misfires. He doesn't crumple, he topples like a felled tree, arms still bent at the exact angles they were when Todd struck him. When he hits the asphalt, his legs kick twice in sharp, involuntary spasms, the kind of movement you see from roadkill that doesn't know it's dead yet.

A thin line of blood trickles from his left ear, dark against the pale concrete. His breathing is shallow and erratic, the kind of labored wheeze that suggests his brain is struggling to remember how to keep his body running. His thermos of coffee rolls away into the darkness, still steaming...SOMEONE GO TELL MILLER'S WIFE AND KIDS.

(Medina) Li, as you open the door, you're confronted with a utilitarian lobby. No bullshit, just with concrete floors and flickering fluorescent lights. A metal staircase leads to the second floor. To the right of the entrance, a bank of CRT-screen monitors is mostly showing static now. In fact, you watch Todrick walk off with Miller on the camera feed, and then the signal disrupts into a colorblock just as the two step out of frame, no doubt the work of either Archimedes's teeth or Ashton's beak. There's an adjacent storage room with the door left open, and from the sliver that is visible from the fron tentrance, you can see a large space filled with wooden and metal crates with shipping manifests as well as an assortment of unmarked containers, as well as lengths of rope and chain on spools. A roll-up door on the far wall leads probably to the parking area where the Suburban and vans are staged.

Ashton had said that the hostiles are upstairs in this very building.

Todrick, as Miller crumples, his radio comes in, a man's voice equal parts furious and alarmed. "Who the fuck is fucking with the cameras?"

(Medina) Todrick is making short, quick work of his sabotage, the only question is how thorough. Miller's body lays there, blood starting to pool on the concrete, as his radio loudly demands answers. If whoever asked that were to come out to check on Miller... Hoo boy, they'd find him. If only there were some kind of thing with doors nearby to stuff him in.

(Li) Upstairs. He was told that Guiterrez is upstairs. That's where Li is going, confident as ever - though feigning irritation at the delay from his hired muscle! Where is that Todd?

(Todrick) Todd is slacking off, boss! He helpfully picks up Miller's radio while closing the hood, pressing it to latch it again rather than slamming it, cause that'd be dumb! Answering is more of a, "Th-*cccchhht!* some-*kkkkttttthhhh*" as he just sorta Boomhaur's parts of words and repeatedly fucks with the press button, whistles annoyingly close to the receiver, and does that thing where you move the spit bubbles between your teeth and cheek. Then he just shuts the radio off. He cant mimic people the way Ash can, so he's hoping he got the basic sound of Miller's voice right-ish and makes it sound casual and unbothered. Like, there's a radio problem, obviously, but no one's dying! You should check on your co-worker, but it doesn't sound like the hit squad needs to be assembled, basically.

Also, fuck you, I totally knew cars are containers that can hold bodies! I... I did. ... No, really... So um. Miller's gonna go in the suburban (jesus I'm dumb).

(Todrick rolls Charisma + Subterfuge + 2 vs 7 for 3 successes.)

(Medina) Todrick's Boomhauer-ass answer over the radio about man I tell you what, man, it's them danged old, talkm'bout, them imported receivers man, y'now talkin' bout that ol 30 foot range, they make in that there china just ain't like they used to, dang ol 90s, man -- well, it does WORK. It does heavy. Lifting.

The silence on the other end is stunned. Confused. Wading through a cognitive fog that you need a goddamn hacksaw just to pry your way into.

"...Well turn it back on!"

(Medina) Ashton and Archie snack on wires and Todrick shoves a loving father of two children with unspoken, broken dreams of graduating culinary school and preparing vegetables instead of being one. Meanwhile, Li ascends the metal stairs with the practiced, easy silence of a criminal who has been in the game long enough to know how to step.

The second floor opens into a harshly lit, narrow hallway. The fluorescent strip lighting casts everything into a jaundiced, harsh and sick shade, as unwelcoming as the thick, scratchy cut of the air that is laden with cigarette smoke and the metallic tang of industrial chemicals seeping through the building's pores.

Three doors branch off the main corridor. The first, slightly ajar, reveals what appears to be a makeshift command center. There are folding tables covered in shipping schedules, various documents of an unknown nature at this distance, and detailed maps of Houston's waterways. Multiple phones and CB radio equipment create a nest of wires and blinking lights. The reality hits Li right in a personal place: this is exactly where humans gets reduced to manifest numbers and shipping schedules.

From the second room comes the low murmur of Spanish conversation. Through the crack under the door, Li can see the warm glow of a desk lamp and the shadow of someone moving around what's clearly an office setup.

But it's the third room that draws Li's attention like a magnet. The door is closed, but something fundamentally wrong radiates from beyond it, standing out against even the wrongness of human evil. It hangs in the air like the air pressure drop before a storm, that unsettling feeling that our hindbrains can pick up on to keep us alive.

The hallway itself provides decent cover. Industrial pipes run along the ceiling like mechanical veins and arteries. The joist work could hide a bird, engaged columns that rib the hallway could conceal someone moving carefully. But voices carry in this confined space, and Li can hear fragments of agitated conversation from multiple rooms as the building's occupants react to the camera failures... Check the perimeter. Miller's not answering. So and so should've been back by now...

(Li) Moving with purpose, but not clumsily, Li makes his way to the second floor - looking for the man in charge. Faced with the corridor, he knows which way he has to go - the evil calls to him, and needs to be culled. Quickly, as to not run into anyone exiting to go check on the camera, he moves with purpose towards that third room. That is the danger that needs addressing. The humans, while not entirely harmless, are the smaller worries at the moment.

(Li) Li sends to Archi and Ashton - hopefully to be relayed to Todd. 'Closed room has evil oozing from it. I need to clear it. The others are worried over the cameras and mobilizing.'

(Ashton) Ashton flies down to Todd to land on his shoulder and relay it, quietly to him in raven language--fortunately Todd understands because of the language thing the sept has going. "Li is going after the fomori, the others are coming out to check out the cameras. Let's ambush them as they come out."

(Todrick) "Oooh, like Tango and Cash!" Todd replies quietly to the bird, and trots quickly but quietly up to the side of the building to press his back up against the wall by a door. Super stealthy! Well, if you're coming out a door. ...It's gonna suck if the door get kicked open real hard though! I did say earlier that Todd was guarding Ash's found chain, so it's probably ike in his belt loops or something edgy and body guardish like that, so that he can give it back to the corax when he homids up.

(Ashton) Ashton shifts to homid, grabs the chain and lines up by the other side of the door waiting for them to come out to investigate.

(Medina) As Li moves with purpose, he hears that conversation die, suddenly. He hears the footsteps on the other side of that door shift from one side of the room and furniture scrape, his eyes noticing the subtle shift of the light at the foot of the door, that tiny strip barely betraying that whatever lies behind it, moved close enough to the door to shift the light, and then the occlusion disappears.

It's that tension in the back of your head, that sense of presence, like a shifting air at the nape of your neck, somebody watching you.

(Medina) As Li yanks the door handle and immediately sidesteps, his paranoia pays off instantly.

BOOM!

The shotgun blast explodes through the doorway, exactly where Li would have been standing. Shot tears chunks out of the opposite hallway wall and peppering the air with concrete dust. The fiery muzzle flash lights up the room's interior for a split second: folding tables covered in shipping schedules, radio equipment, and maps.

"I've got more shells than you've got luck, lizard!" And instead of the distinctive ka-chak of a shotgun cycling, there's a wet, organic sound like cartilage popping, and the man hidden behind the metal desk he's made for cover's fingers are talons, his eyes catching the light and casting it back in ways human eyes shouldn't.